This done he tightened the thong, puckering the edge of the circular piece of skin until it assumed the form of a shallow bowl perhaps fifteen inches wide.

This he set into a snow block in order that it might set firm and retain its shape.

This was to be his Eskimo lamp.
Now he tore a strip from his shirt, folded it to proper size, filled his lamp with oil from the blubber, drove the point of his snow knife into the side of his _igloo_ in such manner that the side rested in a flat position on the top of the bowl, and saturating the cloth with the oil he arranged it upon the knife, taking care that it did not touch either side of the bowl.

This he lighted, and to his great delight found that his lamp was a success.
It was easy to grill small pieces of seal meat over this, but the problem of melting ice for water was a puzzling one.

Finally this, too, was solved, by improvising another bowl from sealskin and suspending over it a piece of ice.